Management team visited SEIFSA members across South Africa to share the Federation ’ s future vision and strategy and to focus on what could be expected in the 2014 wage negotiations . It was during the roadshows that Mr Nyatsumba noticed that Health and Safety ( H & S ) Manager operated at the same level as the Executives .
“ So , I promoted her to the position of a Safety , Health , Environment and Quality Executive ( SHEQ ), making her the other Black member of the SEIFSA Executive Committee ( Exco ). After I had promoted the H & S Manager to the position of SHEQ Executive , Operations Director Lucio Trentini made me aware of another young Black professional , Tafadzwa Chibanguza , who was a Junior Economist at the time , whom he felt had worked hard and deserved a promotion to the Manager-level position of Economist . After engaging with Tafadwa , I realized that Lucio was right in recommending him for a promotion and I duly promoted him .”
Change had to come
As a result , Mr Nyatsumba appointed Rajendra Rajcoomar Chief Financial Officer , who would play a strategic role in helping to turn the Federation ’ s financial position around . He also felt that it was critical for SEIFSA to have a lawyer on board , and he created the SEIFSA Legal Division , headed by qualified Legal Services Executive Bridgette Mokoetle , who is an admitted attorney . The position of Communications Manager was also created to raise the SEIFSA profile .
Other priority areas for Mr Nyatsumba when he took over were to have a vision for SEIFSA .
Another important thing that Mr Nyatsumba realized within the first month of joining the Federation was that SEIFSA was managed more like a family business than a professional services company .
“ There was no sense of urgency ; there was no commitment to generating revenue and , as a result , the organization was in a deficit , signaling a need for a strategy aimed at turning the financial situation around , among others ,” he said .
This meant that the Federation ’ s relaxed culture had to change . Mr Nyatsumba says that the change started with bringing on board the right individuals with appropriate qualifications , skills and experience to help turn the organization around .
“ We had to bring the right calibre of people on board . When I took over , there were only three people with degrees , yet people occupied high and strategic positions in the Federation . If the SEIFSA ship was really to be turned around , we had no choice but to bring qualified people on board ,” he said .
“ Together with SEIFSA Executives and Managers , we agreed , through strategic planning sessions , where we wanted to take SEIFSA . What remained for us was to agree on our vision and mission , to change the Federation ’ s slogan and come up with a three-year turn-around strategy . All of these were done and the bulk of the strategy was implemented successfully .
“ In addition , I established a formal SEIFSA Executive Committee ( Exco ), made up of the CEO , the Deputy CEO , the Operations Director and the Divisional Executives . Until then , operational decisions at SEIFSA were made by a three-member ‘ Directorate ’ made up of the CEO , the Deputy CEO and the Operations Director .
Up until my appointment , the SEIFSA Board ( which was called the Executive Committee ) was a critical decision-making platform , even for some operational issues . This means that I had to put governance structures in place that put boundaries on what the Board could do and what it could not do . I was fully in the role and I had to exercise authority that goes with the role . Therefore , there had to be a clear distinction between the roles of the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee , as is required in terms of Corporate Governance . The Legal Executive also became instrumental in drafting key policies that had previously not been in place .”
Within the first month of his appointment , Mr Nyatsumba also abolished the clocking system after discovering , to his shock , that grown men and women had to clock in and out of the building .
“ I was shocked that the clocking system still existed in 2013 . I didn ’ t like it ; I chose to trust
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